On The Road Again

We had a bit of a shock this morning when it became apparent there was no water available for a shower.  According to the owner some pipe had been left open which drained the water supply and thus no water to our room.  We made the best of it with an extra helping of deoderant and got ready for the day.  A rooftop breakfast brought the news of a Trump victory back home.

On our way out of Trinidad, we returned to the main square to climb a bell tower to take photos from a higher perch.  A couple of street bands were already out performing in hopes of receiving tips or selling their CD’s.  We spent some time photographing the area before boarding our bus for our daylong journey west.

As we passed along a coastal highway the Caribbean ocean stretched out on our left.  I’ve been told the water is beautiful here with a budding dive business in various parts of the country.  We had a long drive ahead of us since we were traveling from the south central part of the country to the western most city.  We were promised some stops along the way to help break of the trip.

Our first stop came when we came across an area on the highway being used to dry rice.  They spread rice across one lane of the road which allows traffic to pass by on the other.  Men with wide shovels rake it back and forth to aid in the drying.  It is my understanding this is a common occurrence across Latin America.

Our next stop was at a horse wash (there are more horses than cars in the country) – a big water hole where the horses were ridden in and washed off.  Several people seemed to be taking advantage of the water to clean their horses.  Across the road, a Cuban family invited us in to see their home.  It was very spartan with a couple of small bedrooms and what made do for a kitchen.  It was very basic.  The average family only has $12 of disposable income a month, so there’s not a lot of luxury living going on.

Our final ‘real’ stop was where the Bay of Pigs incident started.  This CIA backed mission to try to overthrow Castro was not one of our finest moments.  The bay is quite beautiful with fishing boats lining the shore.  The restaurant where we stopped was elevated with nice views of the bay and a gentle cooling breeze.  For $8 we had a grilled lobster dinner with all the fixings (rice, beans, veggies, bread).  You really can’t beat that with a stick!

We had several more hours on the bus before reaching our home for the next several nights in Pinar del Rio.  The hotel appears to be a fairly large resort with a swimming pool and outdoor bar.  The rooms were big but the bed looked more like a super-sized twin.  The pillows were about 2 inches thick but we had a nice bathroom and air conditioning.  We were tired enough it really didn’t matter.

Tomorrow: Off to the Caves